Question

imagine a scenario where the sun’s gravitational force suddenly vanished.

based on the principle that the motion of an object changes if the system of forces acting on it is unbalanced, what would happen to earth’s orbit?

○ earth would stop moving instantly.
○ earth would move in a straight line at a constant speed.
○ earth would be pulled toward the moon.
○ earth would begin to revolve around mars.

Explanation:

To determine the effect of the Sun's gravitational force vanishing on Earth's orbit, we use Newton's first law of motion (inertia), which states that an object in motion will stay in motion with a constant velocity (straight line, constant speed) unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. When the Sun's gravity (the centripetal force keeping Earth in orbit) vanishes, there's no unbalanced force to change Earth's velocity's direction (it was moving tangentially to the orbit). So Earth will move in a straight line at constant speed. The other options are incorrect: Earth won't stop instantly (no force to stop it), the Moon's gravity is much weaker and not enough to pull Earth toward it, and Mars' gravity is also too weak to capture Earth's orbit.

Answer:

B. Earth would move in a straight line at a constant speed.